MySpace now hosting MyAds, social media advertising growing

With this platform, users are able to create their own display banner ads with the following advantages working for them (as cited by the social network):

- Targeted reach - you can narrow your campaign to a specific audience of MySpace users, including gender, age range or geographic area based on the info that users provide on their profiles.

- Ease of use - You can get your campaign online in just a few simple steps using tools provided by MySpace.

- Spending Control - You can determine how much you want to spend on a campaign, anywhere between $25 and $10,000. You're only charged when users click on your ads (CPC rates start at $0.25).

- Measurable Performance - you can track the performance of your ads and edit them, as well as adjust your spending.

The service initially seemed targeted toward musicians, as it surfaced near the launch of MySpace Music, and seemed a perfect way for bands to promote themselves even further with MySpace. While this is still true, MySpace has stressed that the service is really for everybody including "filmmakers, musicians, politicians, authors, video bloggers, non-profit orgs, realtors, restauranters, comedians, radio stations, and doctors," according to Mashable's  Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins, and backing up my suggestion for small businesses to take advantage of the program.

MyAds is similar to Facebook's advertising offering, but Facebook only offers text ads whereas MySpace offers display ads only. Are these the answers the social network "big boys" have been looking for?

MySpace and Facebook, the Coke and Pepsi of the social networking world, are going after each other tooth and nail. That's why MySpace unveiled an innovative music service a few weeks ago that gives users free access to a library of millions of songs. It's also why it's launching its sweeping, new advertising play today.

The crux of the idea is similar to Google AdWords, which gave anyone the ability to buy keywords and serve ads to users searching for stuff. (AdWords accounted for the lion's share of Google's $16.4 billion in revenue last year.) Where AdWords is targeted at what users are searching for, MyAds is targeted at the users themselves.

Anyone can buy ads by going to the MyAds site and signing up. A relatively easy tool allows you to create a banner ad — you can upload your own image, graphic or corporate logo, and type out your message directly into it. MySpace then allows you to "HyperTarget" (MySpace's term) your ad at a market based on the many ways the social network's 76 million active users define themselves. Age, gender, zip code, hobbies, musical preference, even the kinds of video games people like are among the data MySpace captures from users and shares with advertisers. Like Google, rates vary depending on the target market; MyAd advertisers only pay when a user clicks on their ad, with prices starting at 25 cents per click-through. A suite of analytical tools helps advertisers determine how well their ads are working. You can change your ad anytime, on the fly.